Veterinary clinic downtime caused by COVID-19 has financially impacted practices everywhere, whether through changes to practice policy that impact appointments or pet owners staying away from practices in observance of physical distancing. To help veterinary clinics serve clients and weather the economic impact, veterinary medical organizations like the OVMA are encouraging their members to focus on services like teletriage and telemedicine, pharmaceutical sales, and pet food sales—all of which help address immediate economic concerns for practices. Yet the Center for Global Development (in alignment with banks, economists, and data research firms like Statista) predict that COVID-19 will have a long-term impact on global economies.
staying connected with clients and keeping them engaged is important because it will strengthen client relationships and retain customers to hedge against the long haul.
Here are three suggestions to use downtime and strengthen client relationships:
1. Remind People That Other Pet Health Issues Have Not Gone Away
Given the dominance of COVID-19 across news and social feeds right now, some pet owners may have forgotten that other pet health issues have not gone away. Clients, for example, may have forgotten that with the approach of warm weather, now is the time to protect their pets against fleas and ticks and the diseases they can carry.
Sending a reminder email to clients amounts to good public service (which is always appreciated by people) and strengthens client trust by evidencing how your practice has their back.
Empathy is a key element of email communications during crises. If clients, for example, are fearful of visiting your clinic because they don’t know what preventive measures your practice is taking against COVID-19, address their concerns by informing or reminding them of what health policies your practice has in effect.
To help with this, ALLYDVM offers practices many ways to communicate clinic COVID-19 protocols with clients. For example, practices can alert clients about current protocols just before they arrive by setting up automated email and text messages. Click here for more ALLYDVM best practices.
2. Provide How-to Posts That Feature Team Members
Veterinary accreditations listed alongside team member profiles on your website help elicit trust from existing and prospective clients. Similarly, creating social posts that spotlight team member achievements in veterinary CE through online course providers like VetFolio help build client trust by showing people that your practice team is staying current.
The challenge is that, at times like these, a simple achievement post on social may not immediately grab attention. Any form of media tends to attract better attention when linked to what people are walking around thinking about. And against the landscape of COVID-19, a post about a practice team member CE achievement may not garner much attention when juxtaposed against a more common and pressing pet-owner question: “How will I get through this?
provide an example answer for clients that shows how a team member found a solution to work-life balance while in self-isolation. Example post:
Like many people right now, our team member Cassie understands the challenges of working from home while trying to keep an energetic dog entertained indoors during self-isolation. Yet she discovered a new game that keeps her fox terrier Max happily engaged for hours. “He sleeps better and longer now,” says Cassie. “As a result, I have more focused time to keep my professional skills current, and I’m happy to say that I just completed an online CE course on feline pain management.” Way to go Cassie!
3. Invite the Community to Help Pet Owners in Need
While many pet owners can afford to take care of their pets’ medical needs, either through savings or pet insurance, job losses, company closures, and other impacts of COVID-19 have left many pet owners facing a stark reality. Though their pets may need treatment or critical procedure, they simply may not be able to afford the cost. To help pet owners in need, create an online Paws for a Cause-style donation page on a site like GoFundMe let clients know through email, social, and your website that you’re collecting donations for programs like The Farley Foundation.
Administered through the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association, the Farley Foundation assists pet owners and pets in need and gives hope to those who depend on their pets for love and companionship.
